Current Journal (starting 2/2/04)
Sunday (February 8, 2004) - It's another wintry day here today. When you see that the temperature is 17 degrees, it just seems extremely cold but I did go out earlier to put some more sunflower seeds in the feeder and it doesn't feel as cold as it has been. I think we're finally getting totally warped by the weather. When it would get very, very brutally cold outside, I would tell Andrew and Jarrett to wear HATS. Well, you'd think I would've been asking them to wear DRESSES! They'd tell me, "No way, Mom, it'll mess up my hair." Then I'd ALWAYS say, "But if your ears freeze, then they'll fall off from frostbite and think how weird that will look." But they never listened to my advice. The most I could hope for was that they would take the hat and gloves in their backpacks and if they got really cold, they might possibly put them on. Whenever I see a teenager with a hat on, I always want to go up them and tell them how smart they are. But, so far I've resisted doing that. I wonder what picture I can put in here today. Let me go search my extensive photos files. Here's a picture of us in Florida in December 2001. We had spent a week in Port Charlotte with Grandma and Grandpa Burkholder and were on our way back to Casselberry to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Berg before we left to go back to Illinois. I remember that we flew back on January 2nd but by the time we got out of the airport, it was Jarrett's birthday (Jan 3) and we were planning on a stretch limo but all we got was a town car. bummer! Bob was not happy! I have a picture somewhere of Jarrett opening his birthday card and waving the money around. I'll have to look for that. Well then, I'll see ya later, djb
Saturday (February 7, 2004) - I can't tell
what kind of day we're going to have today. They say snow flurries, but
who knows? Bob and I are going out shopping regardless of the weather,
because after all, we are intrepid travelers!! First, we're going to
the cemetery so I can take a picture of the boys' stone covered with snow and
scope ou
t
the road situation because next week I have to go in and put some balloons
around for Andrew's 18th birthday. Then, we're going
to the mall and other places. I definitely MUST get
some more bird seed for the birdies outside. They just love those
sunflower seeds. One of these days, I want to set up my camera and take
some birdie pictures. Wait a minute. What do you say to the birdies
when you take their picture? Look at the person? (note to self:
that seems like a very OLD reference.) Here's my latest animal print
to the right. This was on the deck outside. Of course, Hobbes was
VERY excited to know that one of his wild animal friends had been around.
He's so funny! I'll keep my eyes on the lookout for a coyote paw.
That might be too scary for me!! Must go. bye bye for now. later,
djb
Friday (February 6, 2004) - Once again (my apologies to Bob) but the weather is an issue! I had to shovel my way out to get one of the newspapers. It's so unbelievably beautiful that I decided to take pictures of Andrew and Jarrett's trees covered with SNOW. I can't remember how many times I've moved these trees but I'm thinking of moving Andrew's again if I think it's not getting enough light on the back side once the snow melts and and the robins come back from Florida!
Andrew's white pine tree that he got in third grade. Jarrett's white pine tree that he got in third grade.
Yesterday, we figured out how to use the negative insert on the scanner (thanks Nick!). So, now there's no stopping me. haha Could I possibly copy every single negative I have - maybe... I can certainly recapture pictures that I gave away or lost. Have you heard that commercial about getting your photos wet. I was wondering WHY would your pictures get wet? Is there a problem? If you have wet photos then I don't think a different printer is going to help you. It reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. But then, everything reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. hahaaa Okay, enough chatter. Must go and see what Hobbes is up to. He keeps wanting to eat people food. see ya later, djb
...later this same day - it's a little after 4.
I've been moving furniture around. Any time I move anything, I come across
something that reminds me of the boys. When I moved out the big bookcase,
there was a picture of Andrew in his t-ball uniform holding his glove. Ho
w
cute. And any time, I move something in the computer room, I find
reminders of Sable. In fact, here's a picture of Sable with Grandpa
Burkholder. There's a new movie out,
you know, with a FERRET in it. I think that's so funny. I don't even
care what the movie's about as long as I can see a ferret actor! That's
very funny to me. Of course, we never purposely let Sable run loose.
Whenever she got out, she'd always leave a reminder of her stay. For some
reason, she liked going under the cupboards and into the shower. I'm going
to have to go over to Rochelle some day and see Erin and Scott, who are Sable's
new parents. We're so glad she's happy over there. I won't be
driving very far until the snow melts a little bit. I know that makes me
sound like a big baby, but I am! so there. I'm going to finish
cleaning so I'll be back some time later. bye bye for now, djb
Grandpa Burkholder holding Sable, Jarrett's ferret.
Thursday (February
5, 2004) - Patrick's 16th birthday!! Today is Andrew and Jarrett's
cousin's birthday - that wo
uld
be Patrick Berg (my brother Howard's son). Happy Birthday, Patrick.
Let me go and find your picture. I scanned it the
other day. It's a little grainy because I had to change the colors but he
still looks good.
Last night, Bob was giving me some solid advice about the boys' website. So, I've taken it under advisement and now I decided that instead of going to the bottom of the page with each day's journal entry, I should start at the top. I can't figure out how to rearrange all the other entries, so they can stay where they are. We all know that I am still in my learning curve. I know I talk a lot about the weather, so I think I might start a weather page. You're not going to believe this but WEATHER BUG just started chirping. I'm not kidding. I've been scanning some pictures of Andrew and Jarrett this morning, so I'm going to put those in later this afternoon. I have to figure out how to do this so it isn't confusing. Not only to you all, but to me all, too. (Hey, I lived in the south for 4 years, I know southernese!) I'm going to sign off and see what's up. see ya later, djb
* * *
Monday (February 2, 2004) - GROUNDHOG DAY!!!! Well, today is Groundhog Day. You know what that means! It means that if the groundhog doesn't see his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter. No, that's wrong. If the orange cat doesn't come out from under the rug, it means 12 more weeks of winter:
Hobbes pretending to be a groundhog
That's funny. Hobbes would love to hide under the rug and then when you'd walk by, he'd attack your ankles. That was mostly directed at Andrew and Jarrett. Or after he'd been sniffing at the catnip, then he'd really get wacky.
It's time to get going early on because a huge, gigantic STORM is headed this way...that is, if you listen to the weather people. They love to get excited about snowflakes*** So, I'll talk to you later. Bye for now, djb
...it's 2:24 p.m. and it has just started snowing. THIS is the snow that's going to keep snowing until tomorrow. I knew that we were going to get a lot of snow because my Weather Bug was "chirping." I love that little bug! So, let's all get ready for the STORM!! Okay, I'm ready. I was looking through some pictures of our last Christmas in Florida (2001). Thought I'd put those on here. The first one I found is Andrew with his cousin, Alyssa. I had brought along two Santa hats and Alyssa wanted to wear one, so I gave it to her. I think she looked a lot cuter in it than I did! haha Although I did wear red for the festivities. I had gotten a new camera for Christmas up in Illinois, and it got jammed and wouldn't work! Bummer.
Andrew and Alyssa in Casselberry, Florida in December 2001. Jarrett contemplating his move on the traveling chess board with his dad.
Here's a picture of Jarrett and Bob playing chess. That was all they did - day and night. Of course, I'd play chess with Jarrett and he'd put all his pieces aside but two and give me a head start, but he'd still beat me! It's nice to know how to play chess, though. It's something you can always do when you're in an airport waiting for a plane, for example!
It's time to go and do something that involves food or cleaning. So, I'll talk to you all later. bye bye, djb
Tuesday - February 3, 2004 - Yikes and double Yikes!! We have a snow situation out there. I was out early taking pictures. I'll put them on so you can see the extent of our snow event. I'm not kidding, it's everywhere!!
Last night, before Bob got home, I shoveled the driveway. Then, about 7:30 last night, he shoveled the driveway again. It's a good thing we did that, otherwise, we wouldn't be going anywhere. Wait a minute, I'm NOT going anywhere. I will eventually have to trudge out to get the newspapers. If you look real close, you can see the pink wrapper on the one paper at the end of the driveway. That's pretty funny. THAT is where I have to go. At the base of the basketball hoop out there, Andrew and Jarrett wrote their initials in the cement. They had to do it fast because it was QUICK drying. We spent a lot of time out there playing horse or pig. Of course, I have pictures of them playing basketball! Must go and get some morecoffee. See ya later. bye, djb
...later this day in the
afternoon. I was looking for something and instead I found one of
my favorite pictures of the boys. It has absolutely nothing to do with
anything except that it's cute. I can't remember exactly when I took it
but obviously it was in the summertime. Probably somewhere around 1993 or
so. When I took the film in to get dev
eloped,
they had a special deal and I was able to get 5 x 7 inch prints instead of the
usual 4 x 6 for the same price. What a deal!
Today is the 11th month anniversary since the accident. Usually I don't dwell on it too much but in one month, it'll already be a year since they've been gone. Sometimes, it seems like forever and other times it seems like yesterday. Time is a funny thing. I sure hope people remember what I've been saying about being kind to the ones you love while they're still here because once they're gone, it's over and you don't get another chance to say what you should have said or done what you should have done. Remember that what you do does make a difference and your actions do have consequences. Like a pebble in a pond. Try to do something nice every single day of your life for someone else (you know, those random acts of kindness!). Then, some day when you go up to see Andrew and Jarrett, you can say to them, "See, I was nice!" So, get out of here and go do a good deed! Why? Because I said so. lol See ya later. Bye, djb
Wednesday - February 4, 2004 - It's fairly
early here this morning. Just starting to get light. I have to go
see Doctor Cohen today. In case you don't know, I have a rare immune
disorder called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (itp).
Do a Google on it and you can read about it. It's a platelet disorder.
Meaning that sometimes, my platelets just disappear. A person needs
platelets so that when you cut yourself, your blood clots. There were
times when I'd have a mosquito bite and of course, I'd scratch it, then blood
would start dripping down my arm! Sure, I can laugh about it now - yuk
yuk. At one time, I was going in for blood tests every single day!!!
They'd do a Complete Blood Count (CBC)! Anyway, after a while (it's been 8
and a half years), I try to ignore it. The most amazing thing to me is
that Andrew and Jarrett were 9 and 7 when I was first diagnosed, so they lived
most of their lives with me being kind of wacky and sickly. The other
amazing thing is that most people probably don't know that there's anything
seriously wrong with me. It's that old saw, "You can't judge a book by its
cover!" But enough about weird science...
Very, very cold here this morning, but it's going to be sunny. So, I'm going to look for a summer picture. Let me see what I can find. Okay, here are five Burkholders out at Grandma and Grandpa's casual getaway place. The boys liked to go out there because they'd always have a fire in the fire pit. Plus, there was a lot stuff to do. Especially when they were younger. As they got older, of course, they were always BORED!!! ha ha ha
Must go now. Have miles to walk before I sleep. No, make that miles to DRIVE before I sleep. Hopefully, I will have enough platelets to keep me from having to take the dreaded "wacky medicine!"
Bye for now, djb
...about 2:08 p.m. this afternoon. I got back a little while ago, and I'm fine, thank you! I have 304,000 platelets. That's exactly how many I had last time I went which was about two months ago. So, I've got that goin' for me! This morning, I took this photo when I looked out Andrew and Jarrett's bathroom window and saw this HUGE icicle. I'm going to get a broom and open the window and whack those cicles after while. Look out below.........
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and saw Donna Anderson (Sadie's mom). She's so nice. I told her that I would put Sadie's picture in here and she told me Sadie dyed her hair brown! Can you believe that? (Hi Sadie!) I've been coloring my hair for about 40 years! Yikes! Don't tell Bob. He thinks I'm a "natural" blonde with naturally dark roots!!! hahaa A couple of years ago, my mom told me that my Grandma O'Malley colored her hair when she was younger. Isn't that a hoot? I come from a long line of people who fooled with Mother Nature. I suppose you figured out that my mom dyed her hair, too. Anyway, my hair is just starting to get more grey in it, so that's just fine with me. Pretty soon, I can get those senior citizen discounts!!! We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow, so I'd better go check the radar and get my shovel ready. Once again, it's been real (70's expression).
Icicles hanging down pretty darn far. bye for now, djb